Many photographers make the mistake of operating their businesses without the proper coverage. When considering the photography business insurance cost, a number of these professionals consider this extra expense to be a direct invasion of their earnings. They also believe that conscientious care is all that is necessary for preserving their equipment and their overall financial well-being. Unfortunately, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

You Equipment Is Your Most Significant Investment

Without a vital array of photography equipment, many professionals find that their services are unmarketable. Although consumers are highly concerned with photographic skill, shoppers are becoming increasingly savvy in their selection methods. They know that high-quality equipment can have as much of an impact on the results they receive as can experience and talent.

This is one of the top reasons why you should be protecting your tools. As a professional in this industry, you will be encountering a variety of risks each time your services are employed. Moreover, photographers are often the sole proprietors of their businesses and this means that the need for coverage extends far beyond the possible need to replace costly equipment. Following are several of the most common options in photographer business insurance along with details on how these can benefit your operations.

General Or Liability Insurance

General liability insurance could be essential for simply getting your foot in the door. A lot of the top venues require professional photographers to have their own liability insurance in place. If this requirement is part of your client’s venue agreement, you will need to provide proof of this coverage in order to perform your work. Once you have all of your equipment set up, there are a number of accidents that can occur.

People can trip over electrical cords or collide with your lighting equipment. Venue owners know that just about anything can happen when people get together in a public place, which is why they make it necessary for photographers to have sufficient insurance for covering any medical costs that are incurred as the result from having your equipment on their premises. Having this coverage in place will make your operations more marketable and more appealing overall.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omissions insurance on top of your business insurance for photographers. This covers the costs of professional oversight and mistakes. With photographers, there are lots of things that can go wrong in the process of fulfilling a work contract. Memory cards can be lost, damaged or stolen, scheduling errors can be made and even potentially compromising photos can result in liability issues depending upon the nature of your work. This is one of the most important forms of photographer business insurance to have.

Not only will it help to cover the costs of claims relating to your mistakes, but it will also make your clients happier and protect your commercial reputation in the process. When things go awry, having some means for compensating irate customers is one of the best ways to start smoothing everything back out.

Camera Insurance And Other Property Coverage

General liability and professional liability insurance will protect you from the financial damages that result from bodily harm caused by your equipment and from claims relating to the performance of your professional duties. You will typically need a special form of coverage for protecting your cameras and other valuables from damage, theft and loss.

Under an Inland Marine policy, each of your items will need to be itemized separately in order to qualify for reimbursement. This is actually a standard method for ensuring professional equipment, however, it may be possible to secure a plan that additionally covers any unscheduled equipment that is not directly identified on this list.

It is important to note that a blanket limit of coverage is the easiest and most cost-effective way to cover all of your valuables and thus, this type of cover is far preferable to Inland Marine plans. With an Inland Marine policy, your business property and studio tools will not be covered if these have not been scheduled into the plan.

Photographers may additionally need to consider property coverage in the form of borrowed or leased equipment insurance, computer insurance, valuable records insurance and business income and extra expense coverage, depending upon the type and size of their operations.

Automobile Liability Insurance For Photographers

There are two types of automobile liability insurance that you may need to acquire for your photography business. If you have employees who use your vehicle or if you use your own auto or regularly rent one for your business operations, securing non-owned automobile liability is vital. Otherwise, a standard commercial vehicle liability plan should work best.

While you might be tempted to cut your insurance costs by simply insuring your vehicle under your standard personal plan, a commercial auto insurance plan will have much higher limits and other features and benefits that are better-suited to the risks and demands of your business. Should you ever get into an accident, the benefits of having the right policy in place will far outweigh the costs of this coverage.

Employer’s Liability

As the owner of a growing business, there may come a time when you need to hire one or more employees to assist you with either your administrative of professional efforts. Employer’s liability or workers compensation will ensure that your team has access to paid medical care after having suffered an injury on the job. Although the likelihood of on-the-job injuries is far lower for photography businesses than it is in many other industries, having workers compensation insurance is a legal requirement. Thus, as soon as you start expanding your team, this needs to be added to your business insurance package.

Choosing The Right Insurance Company

With such a wealth of coverage types to choose from, it is important for photographers to work with seasoned, knowledgeable agents who are willing to take an individualized approach to creating comprehensive and affordable insurance for a photography business. With the right provider, you can be sure that all of your risks are accounted for, at the most minimal cost possible. Moreover, you will also have the best access to all available discounts, which will limit the impact that this essential expense has on your bottom line.